Identity theft focus of business forum
Posted on Saturday, September 22, 2007
ROGERS — Loreesa Botkin has some advice for business owners unsure about how to protect against identity theft and fraud: think like a thief.
The representative from the Better Business Bureau of Arkansas told a handful of attendees at her late-morning session Friday that businesses were just as susceptible to con artists in search of valuable information to use in a scam as the general public.
Botkin was among guest speakers appearing at a smallbusiness conference hosted by the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce. About 250 people attended the event at the Embassy Suites in Rogers.
Several breakout sessions on topics such as marketing, law and sales guided local entrepreneurs into making better business decisions.
Botkin said protecting the integrity of an employer’s information technology infrastructure is a big part of theft prevention. She recommended safeguarding information containing any valuable financial links that is passed along or disposed of. She even cautioned business owners about the kind of information included on a business check.
“When you’re handing over a check, you’re handing over your financial life, ’’ Botkin said.
While the Better Business Bureau does not investigate identity theft, the national-consumer advocacy group fields calls inquiring about what to do in the case of an identity breach and how to prevent it, she said.
“ Everyone is prone to identity theft and it doesn’t matter if you’re a small or large business, ’’ Botkin said.
U. S. Rep. John Boozman, RArk., gave the keynote address at the event’s luncheon.
“ The backbone of the economy is small business,” he said.
Before politics, Boozman got his start as co-founder of the Boozman Eye Clinic now called the Boozman-Hof Regional Eye Clinic in Rogers.
Boozman helped present the chamber’s small business of the year award, to Maloney Marketing Group of Cave Springs. Attendees also perused a dozen exposition tables featuring local banks, technology companies and consulting businesses. Kathy Grimes, co-owner of Lowell’s Sunbelt Business Advisors of Mid-America, said before retiring from the Fayetteville School District, she helped her husband operate several different ventures. The couple own three business brokerages in Lowell, Springfield, Mo., and Joplin, Mo., and operate within a national chain of 350. Carl Grimes said he has helped sell more than 400 businesses since 1995 when he bought into the company. “ My passion is small business, ’’ he said.
To contact this reporter: lwhalen@arkansasonline. com
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
